Today marks one year since the start of the so-called “Operation Iron Wall” military offensive on Jenin, when Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) stormed Jenin city and its refugee camp with a massive deployment of military vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, and bulldozers on 21 January 2025. On the first day of the incursion, 10 Palestinians were killed by the IOF in Jenin and Jenin Refugee Camp. The military incursion was accompanied by intense gunfire and the use of military helicopters firing live ammunition around the camp.
The military operation caused widespread panic, spreading fear and terror as families ran through streets and markets searching for their children to bring them home from school, or attempting to secure basic provisions, believing the attack would last a few days. Instead, the attack which started on Jenin has continued for a full year and has not yet concluded.
These widespread and systematic attacks have unfolded over the past year amid a persistent lack of adequate attention from international media and politicians, and in the absence of accountability for international crimes committed against Palestinians in Jenin or elsewhere, including genocide.
The IOF forcibly displaced Jenin Refugee Camp’s population, expelling residents through a designated corridor and effectively emptying the camp, before expanding the operation to include the forced displacement of neighbouring areas adjacent to the camp. This was followed by the IOF’s systematic destruction of streets and infrastructure in both Jenin Refugee Camp and the city, which also later extended to surrounding towns and villages.
Throughout the military attack, the IOF carried out what we have described as severe and unprecedented violations, surpassing anything witnessed since the 2002 incursion on Jenin Refugee Camp. Hundreds of homes in the camp were blown up or demolished, and roads were carved through residential areas at the expense of civilian homes. Displaced families now live in extremely harsh humanitarian conditions, repeatedly enquiring about the possibility of returning to what remains of their homes. The IOF have attacked medical teams, hospitals, and public and private property, with the extensive use of heavy weapons and military machinery.
As a result of the ongoing military operation, the total number of Palestinians killed in Jenin and Jenin Refugee Camp has reached 64 to date, including 16 children, alongside widespread injury, destruction, and collective punishment directed at the civilian population. Until today, residents have not been allowed to return to the Jenin Refugee Camp, nor have our teams been able to enter the camp to further investigate the international crimes or document the extent of the destruction to infrastructure or homes.